Kennedy delivers $188,000 for communications
by Philip Marcelo
in the Providence Journal
CUMBERLAND — U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy
yesterday delivered a $188,000 check to town officials to upgrade
the Police Department communications system through the purchase
of new computers and radio systems for police officers and dispatchers.
Police Chief John R. Desmarais said that the department expects
to invest the money in a system that transfers signals via microwave
rather than phone lines. The system, which will be the first of
its kind in the state, will allow the department to coordinate
police, fire and rescue personnel even in inclement weather, when
communication is often hindered under the current system, he said.
“Our communication will be enhanced in such a way that we
will not have to rely on cell phone towers. It will be more consistent,
dependable and reliable,” Desmarais said.
Mayor Daniel J. McKee said that the federal
money comes at a “difficult
time for the state,” when communities need to look beyond
their tax base for revenue and more toward outside sources.
Kennedy said that the money, a federal appropriation,
was secured as a result of his growing influence on the House
Appropriations Committee, which he characterized as “the
most powerful committee in Congress.”
Kennedy is serving his seventh year on the
committee, which has authority over all of the federal government’s
discretionary spending. He is a member of the Subcommittee on
the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education,
and Related Agencies and the Subcommittee on the Departments
of Science, State, Justice and Commerce.
[read
the rest in the Providence Journal]
Kennedy to tour Branch Village
by JOSEPH FITZGERALD
in the Woonsocket Call
NORTH SMITHFIELD — U.S. Rep. Patrick
Kennedy (D-RI) will visit North Smithfield Sunday for a briefing
and tour of the Branch Village district.
The tour kicks off at noon with a brief welcome and reception
at the North Smithfield Fire and Rescue Service building at the
corner of Great Road and St. Paul Street.
Kennedy will join town officials and members of the Branch Village
Revitalization Task Force (BVRTF) to discuss the town's request
for a $5.78 million federal appropriation to match the town’s
infrastructure investment of $6.1 million for the revitalization
of Branch Village.
[read
the rest in the Woonsocket Call]
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